1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric cooking appliance, in particular for toasting food, having two cooking plates hinged together in order to move the plates between a position in which they are located opposite to each other and a position in which they are located in the line of extension of each other for the purpose of mounting and assembly.
The invention applies in particular to the cooking of food preparations such as toasted ham-andcheese sandwiches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In this type of cooking appliance, each cooking plate carries an insulating casing which covers the face opposite to its cooking face, an electric heating resistor being placed between each plate and its casing.
In the known designs (as disclosed, for example, in patent FR-A-2 302 067), the cooking plates are made sufficiently rigid by molding from cast iron or aluminum and the elements used for joining them together in hinged relation are carried by the plates themselves or by the insulating casings.
The heating resistors are either embedded in the metal of the plates or attached thereto by suitable means.
A reflecting surface of sheet metal, for example, is usually placed between the heating resistor and the casing of insulating material in order to reflect the heat radiation towards the cooking plate and to guard against overheating of the casing.
In the known designs, the reflecting surface may also serve to support the electric heating resistor and the cooking plate (as in patent FR-A-2 302 067). In this case, the reflecting surface rests on a peripheral shoulder of the insulating casing and is provided with an added stiffening reinforcement.
A handle of insulating material is attached to each casing on the side opposite to the hinge elements in order to bring the casings into position one above the other for simultaneous cooking of both faces of a toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich or for transportation of the appliance.
The disadvantage of these cooking appliances is that they are expensive to produce, primarily by reason of the fact that the cooking plates are cast in a foundry. This high cost is increased even further by the many operations involved in assembly of the different elements which go to make up the appliance.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of known designs by creating an appliance with cooking plates which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.